


pretty, pretty pink

by bluehasnoclues



Series: naruto oneshot/shortfics [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Blood and Violence, Dark Haruno Sakura, Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Inner Is Some Form Of Eldritch Horror, It just kind of happened, Mildly Insane Haruno Sakura, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, but I'm still marking this fic as "complete" because it's not a dedicated multi-chap story, ok so I'm casually tossing on chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2020-12-28 14:23:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21138146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluehasnoclues/pseuds/bluehasnoclues
Summary: Sakura was baptized in her mother's blood.Voice is dangerous.-He looks so pretty like this,Voice crooned.All dressed up for us, Sakura-chan.“Run red, run red, roses in the water,” she murmured, the old lullaby echoing in her ears.Pretty pink stones from the cannon fodder.





	1. Before

**Author's Note:**

> I have a midterm in 30 minutes. Hi.

She was five and they were laughing. They jeered and pointed and tears welled in her eyes. She brushed her hair in front of her forehead - _ too big too much too visible _\- and walked home over broken glass and worn cobblestone. 

_ Ah, Sakura-chan, _ something in the back of her mind whispered, dark and menacing and scary, _ don’t listen to _them. 

Sakura shook her head. She wouldn’t, she wouldn’t, _ she wouldn’t. _

-

A girl with long blonde hair took her hand and wouldn’t let go. She smiled a happy smile with straight teeth and bright eyes, and Sakura smiled back, _ her _ teeth sharp and _ her _ eyes sharper. 

Father didn’t ask if Sakura wanted to be a shinobi. Father sat with her at dinner and set the liability form on the table, signed, and said: “You start Monday.” 

_ Good. _

It was loud and there were too many colors, and children brawled and bared their (dull) teeth, and older siblings and parents looked on them with nostalgia and amusement and everything that made Sakura’s skin crawl. 

(Father never walked her to the Academy. Sakura was glad.)

Ino was a steady presence beside her. Firm, unyielding. _ Warm. _Ino’s father sometimes looked at Sakura, in a way where he could see straight through her, but then he looked away and she didn’t know what he had seen but she knew that she had been dismissed. 

_ He’ll learn, _ Voice said softly, patiently, waiting. _ Don’t worry, sweet girl. He’ll _learn. 

Ino smiled. Sakura bared her teeth, wrinkled her eyes, curled her lips. 

-

She climbed the trees until bark splintered her palms. The smell of green was fresh and the cool of the shade was especially nice on hot days, when the sun beat down on the ground and they had no water or crops because that was for the Clans and they had to fend for themselves. Sakura climbed the trees and watched the squirrels and the birds and the bugs, and if sometimes she brought some home, Father stayed quiet. 

He didn’t like her much, but he knew to stay away. 

She slept in the trees, too, when her bed was too soft and her house was too loud. She watched the stars that were covered by clouds and listened as Voice whispered to her stories of long-forgotten goddesses and beginnings and ends. 

She believed Voice more than she believed the Academy, because the Academy looked at her oddly and told her to go play, that questions could wait, that she was still young and didn’t need to worry about these things. 

Voice asked her, _ What else?, _ and expected her to understand. 

-

Sakura heard their whispers of _ odd child _ and _ strange _ and _ suspicious _ and _ something wrong with, _and Voice told her to look at Sasuke, to speak fast and high, to watch the world with Ino’s and Ami’s eyes, to be bright and bubbly and young. 

With the sun, Sakura was a flower, soft, fragile, thin, something to be protected, but also so like the others that she didn’t really matter. 

With the moon, Sakura climbed the trees and watched the squirrels and smiled. 

Sometimes Voice spoke to her in class, and she would listen to it instead of them. “The mission is most important,” said the Academy. “Emotions are a liability. Shinobi Rule Four - write this down - don’t show emotions. Shinobi do not laugh, they do not sing, they do not frown, they _ do not cry.” _

_ No, _ Voice said, light and humorous. _ Take the bubbling in your chest, the fire in your veins, the anger in your heart and the pain in your soul. Take it and use it in every action, every blow. Use it in every word. _

And let it control me? asked Sakura. Voice laughed. 

_ Silly girl. It already controls you. _

-

The kunai felt cold and heavy and wrong in her hand. Her fingers twitched. She didn’t like the weight, or the dullness, or the bulky fit in her small palm. They watched over her shoulder as she missed the target. 

Again, they said. 

She picked up the kunai. She threw. She missed. 

“Again.” 

Kneel. Stand. Throw. Miss. 

“Again.”

Kneel. Stand. Throw. Miss. 

“Again.”

Kneel. Stand. Throw. Miss.

“Five laps, Haruno.” 

Sakura ran. Her nails bit into her palm. 

“Again,” they said, and the next time she missed, and picked up the kunai, it was patterned with crescent-shaped marks of blood. 

_ “Again,” _ they said, and Sakura’s heart was rising and her lungs were getting smaller and with Voice murmuring quietly, she _ didn’t _ kneel, and she let go her anger and her impatience and the bitterness forming in her chest, and the kunai hit. 

It wasn’t in the center of the target, but it was an inch deep. 

Sakura bared her teeth as they told her to run again. 

-

She was growing and changing and everything was morphing into something more mature but also more childish. 

Ino watched Sasuke from a distance, longing in her eyes, even as he sat in the corner in dark clothing with a dark face and a darker gaze because his family was dead and they weren’t allowed to talk about it. 

Naruto was louder and brighter and more abrasive and he pushed and pushed until someone reacted. 

Shikamaru and Kiba and Hinata and Shino and Choji were quiet, Clan Children at their finest. 

-

Sakura loosened the area under her eyes and lifted the corners of her lips and rested her cheek on her palm and sighed softly and watched Sasuke. 

More carefully, Sakura watched Ino do the same. 

_ Good, _ Voice said. _ Your back is too straight and your shoulders are too tight. The language of the human body, Sakura-chan. _

The Academy skimmed over infiltration and honeypot missions. 

Sakura was a flower. 

-

She was in the trees and an ANBU team rushed by her and one shinobi stopped to give her an odd look. 

“Go home,” they said, dull and monotone. “This is no place for children at night.” 

“Yes, shinobi-san,” Sakura said, lips curled, eyes gleaming. The ANBU nodded once. Walked away. 

Sakura stayed, but watched curiously as they disappeared into the shadows. 

She’d heard about them, but only in whispers and cautious glances into the dark. 

_ Celebrated nightmares but considered nightmares nonetheless, _ said Voice, amused. _ Watch. You’ll be celebrated and no one will know your nightmare. _

No one knows me now, Sakura thought, looking at the stars. 

_ A civilian kunoichi rising through the ranks: hopeless, mediocre, passable, beyond, _ ** _celebrated. _ **


	2. Hopeless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept?? switching?? to present tense?? so if you find any mistakes, apologies in advance. Also, because I don't want to create a new story so now it's a twoshot?

Sakura graduated with the others. She was no better at throwing kunai than she was years ago, but she was much better at running. 

Her fingers twitched every time she held the metal but it was easier when she gripped it loosely and let it fall, _ oops it was an accident, _ slicing into their skin and drawing blood. _ Oops, _ she said again, and again, as many times as they had made her kneel and miss. _ It was an accident. Sorry! _

“Team Seven: Haruno Sakura.” 

She looked up. 

“Uchiha Sasuke.” 

She watched him frown, then watched the frown disappear half a moment later, then watched Ino’s eyes widen and fill with jealousy and something else. Ino protested and Sakura cheered louder. 

“Uzumaki Naruto.” 

She watched Naruto’s eyes light, heard his cheer, felt his happiness from where she sat frowning. 

“Jounin Sensei: Hatake Kakashi.” 

She watched Iruka’s face as his eyes widened, his lips turned downward, his brows came together for a fraction of a second, then as his face smoothed out into its usual blankness. 

_ Sweet girl, _ Voice crooned, _ I think you’ve found your team. And what a nice team they are — _

“Team Eight: —” 

Sakura didn’t smile. Her eyes were sharp and gleaming. 

-

“-chan,” Naruto was whining, high pitched and loud, watching her with his bright blue _ ignorant unseeing _ eyes. 

Sakura watched the window. 

_ He’s outside, _ whispered Voice. _ Ooh, he’s strong, this one. You’ll like him. He’s - _ ** _intoxicating. _ **

“Fine,” said Naruto, a distracted sort of frustrated. “I’ll just - prank him, I guess, since he’s late.” He picked up the eraser and balanced precariously on a table. 

“He’s not going to fall for that.”

“Shhhh, Sakura-chan, yes he _ will.” _

_ Two seconds, _ said Voice. _ One. _

Sakura looked up. 

_ Two. _

Nothing happened. 

_ Thr— _

A puff of dust, a flash of grey-white hair, piercing eyes that relaxed only after they had passed over the room. 

“Ha!” Naruto called, all-too-triumphant. Sasuke glared. Their sensei’s eyes burned. 

_ Watch his hands, _ Voice said, sounding intrigued, _ there’s nothing there. His hands, his hips, his feet. Nothing. _

Sakura watched. Hatake Kakashi was slouched, scowling, hands shoved in his pockets. Hatake Kakashi was completely still. 

_ Hatake Kakashi is a _ ** _liar,_ ** Voice said. 

_ I like him. _

-

Sakura was the last to the roof. 

“Call me Kakashi-sensei,” the man said, eyes narrowed, expression shuttered. She could see Naruto and Sasuke as they dismissed him, as they interpreted the last addition to their team as _ lazy. _

“I like… things, and I dislike other things,” said Hatake Kakashi. “I have dreams.” His body was still. Sakura watched his chest. It barely moved as he breathed. His clothes made no noise in the wind, and his hair was as unmoving, like it had been drawn onto his body. 

Naruto groaned, throwing up his hands. His orange jumpsuit rustled. 

“That only tells us your name!” He cried, and was promptly ignored, because Hatake was gesturing towards Sasuke with a closed-eyed smile. 

Sasuke’s introduction was similar in its brevity. Voice smiled. 

_ Kill a man? _ it asked, tone light. _ Maybe we can help with that, Sakura-chan. _

Maybe, Sakura thought back, and then a lock of hair blew into her face and Hatake was gesturing towards her this time. 

“My name is Haruno Sakura,” she said. She did not make eye contact. “I like…” 

Squirrels? The moon? The feel of dirt under her feet, bark digging into her hands, the iron taste of —

“...climbing trees. I dislike…” 

Kunai? The Academy? Colors and noises and people who smiled with straight teeth and happy eyes and dared to call themselves _ scary? _

“...very strict teachers. My dream…” 

To run free? To hear only quiet? To watch the water in the creek as it slowly slowly began to run red until the rocks slowly slowly began to stain —

“...is to be the best I can be.” 

Hatake had stopped watching her after her name. 

She did not look at him. 

She did not want to become enamoured at what she might have found. 

_ Sakura-chan, _murmured Voice. 

Hatake disappeared and left behind no smoke. 

_ Sakura- _ ** _chan. _ **

Yes, Sakura murmured back. 

-

When he told them — _ You’ll have to come at me with intent to kill _— and Naruto jumped forward with a challenging smile, and Sasuke jumped back into the bushes, Sakura let Voice’s whispered words fill her ears. 

_ Not yet, _ said Voice, _ not yet. Breathe, sweet girl. Go find that boy of ours. _

Ours? asked Sakura. Voice laughed. 

_ Ah, my darling girl. Do you feel the hate in his heart? Burning in the back of his eyes? Hurting his lungs with every breath? _

Oh. 

_ Yes, _ said Voice, _ he’s ours. _

Sakura went. 

-

_Go find your team, _ Voice had said, watching and waiting and enjoying their struggling movements all too much, _ and pay attention to the pain in Hatake Kakashi’s face. It tells a story, doesn’t it? _

It did, Sakura thought, not at Voice though it heard anyway. 

Sakura reasoned with Sasuke and fluttered her eyelashes at Naruto and paid attention to Hatake’s eyes as the three genin stood side by side. 

A flash of remembrance. 

Resignation? 

Nostalgia?

_ Pain. _

Sakura didn’t smile. Hatake did with his eyes. 

_ See? _Voice asked, entirely rhetorical.

“You pass,” said Hatake, eyes closed. 

**_Liar. _ **

So much potential, thought Sakura, as her fingers twitched. 


	3. Mediocre

For the first week, it went like this: 

At exactly 6:00, they met at Training Ground 27. They stretched and yawned and rubbed the crust from their eyes. 

Hatake arrived at approximately 9:00, not counting the time during which he silently watched them from the trees. The three hours between their arrival and his official one were filled with Naruto's voice and Sasuke's grunts and the occasional head-slap from Sakura. 

From 9:00-10:00, they trained; Sakura sat on the grass as her boys sparred and Hatake watched. 

They arrived at the missions desk at 10:30, at which point Hatake would hand them a D-Rank file, give them less than a minute to scan its contents, and follow them to their destination. 

Follow, not lead. 

If they completed their assignment before 16:00, they would walk back to the missions desk to receive another. If they completed it after 20:00, they were allowed to leave for their respective houses. 

For the first seven days, Voice was amused. 

On the eighth day, Hatake arrived at 9:47 exactly, and Voice was no longer amused. 

On the ninth day, Sakura arrived at Training Ground 27 at 6:00 and stood to wait for her boys. 

It went like this: 

"We're going to learn a jutsu," said Sakura, and pulled a scroll from her bag. "It's Katon, because we have the most access to that one, here." 

Sasuke, unsurprisingly, was the first to succeed. 

Naruto, surprisingly, was the second, but his small breath of flames was small and weak. 

_ Good, _ crooned Voice. _ So good, sweet girl. _

Sakura moved her fingers into place, gathered her chakra near her throat, let it boil, and — 

Her fingers spasmed rather than twitched. 

_ Oh, Sakura-chan, _ said Voice, _ not quite yet, my darling. _

Hatake, unsurprisingly, was not amused. 

Voice, surprisingly, didn't care. 

-

Hatake Kakashi winced at the claw marks on Sakura's face. The action was entirely too forced and obvious and Sakura almost, _ almost _ felt bad for him, because she also had to interact with people and plastering on semi-believable expressions could be exhausting, but she watched Tora hiss from under a nearby bush and the emotion was gone before it could arrive. 

Their sensei had begun accompanying them on their missions, though he still only sat in the corner and read from his book. His eyes, Sakura noticed, barely moved. 

So much potential and so little used. 

_ Be calm, _ whispered Voice, its tone decidedly chiding, as they walked to the mission desk and skimmed a thin file detailing their next weed-pulling assignment. _ Sakura-chan. Calm. Tonight, we'll walk the trees. _

It was cold that night and Sakura shivered and relished in the feeling. It was hot during the day, enough that the flowers had begun wilting and water was running scarce. The bark bit into her palms and she smiled, sharp and gleaming. 

The moon was bright. 

-

"I'm not doing this," growled Naruto. "We're _ ninja, _ now, and we want a _ real _ mission." 

"Is everyone in agreement?" asked the Hokage. He sounded tired. Sakura did not feel sympathy. 

_ Say yes, sweet girl. Yes, you agree. _

"Yes," said Sakura. Sasuke grunted. Hatake shrugged. 

"I'll give you a C-Rank," the Hokage sighed. "Is that enough?" 

"Believe it!" Naruto cried, swinging out his arms and smiling an innocent, naïve smile. "What is it?" 

"Tazuna-san," said the Hokage, and a ragged man stumbled into the room. He stunk of alcohol and held a bottle in his hand. His arms swayed and his face frowned and his eyes passed over them with the ignorant judgement of someone unthinking. 

“Are they supposed to protect me?” the man called Tazuna slurred. 

-

Two nights ago, the last time she had seen her house, they had only muddy water. Pulled from a deep well closer to the borders of the village, where resources were easily tainted but also accessible. 

(It was drought season and Sakura was not Clan.)

She didn’t need Voice to nudge her attention towards the puddle in the path, but it did so anyway, and she returned a flicker of gratitude before watching the forest beside her. 

When the Demon Brothers burst from the ground, Sakura was a flower, and she jumped in front of their shaking client and cried out in fear when Hatake was ripped apart by chains. 

Liar, you said, Sakura grumbled to Voice. Voice didn’t respond. 

Naruto doubled and Sasuke breathed fire and Sakura stood and trembled. Next time, she decided, when she could boast a true fight underneath her belt, when she could realistically justify a transition to _ aggressive behavior, _she would stand beside them. 

_ Next time, _ murmured Voice in not-quite agreement. 

-

Naruto was injured (but not), Sasuke was indifferent (but not), Hatake was reluctant (but not), and so they moved on. Tazuna thanked them with wide eyes and dripped honey-drenched words from his tongue, as if they could be guilted into staying by his side. 

All four shinobi decided to ignore him. His attempts were bordering offensive. 

The water came with little fanfare; a rickety old boat that rocked with every movement seemed a dangerous thing, knowing her teammates, but Naruto was subdued as he stared into the mist. 

_ He fought, little thing, _said Voice fondly. 

“Teme,” Sasuke muttered, his word of choice for the past few hours. Naruto scowled before startling again, his eyes alarmed as he threw another kunai into a bush. 

“Ha!” Naruto cried when the bush rustled. When the only enemy revealed was a small white rabbit, his entire body deflated like his energy had left him all at once. 

“Teme,” Sasuke repeated predictably. 

_ “Duck!” _cried Hatake, the loudest that Sakura had heard him yet, and she pulled Tazuna down by the back of his collar, falling to the ground lightly and feeling no pity when Tazuna did not do the same. He coughed, and his next breaths were wheezing. 

When Sakura looked up, Hatake Kakashi was not still. 

_ Ah, _said Voice. It sounded distinctly happy. 

_ There he is. _

“Stay back,” warned Hatake, sliding his hitai-ate to rest above both of his eyes. He did not glance at Naruto or Sasuke, but his next words were pointed: “This is above your level. Let me deal with him.” 

“Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan eye,” the foreign nin drawled, resting lazily against a tree. He was standing on a large, impressive sword, lodged at least halfway into the trunk. 

“Momochi Zabuza,” said Hatake. He sounded like he was mocking the foreign nin and Voice felt distinctly pleased. “Demon of Kirigakure, S-class Nukenin. Pleasure.” 

Momochi Zabuza tilted his head forward, eyes trained carefully on Hatake, the perfect facsimile of a bow. “So you’ve heard of me.” He did not have happy eyes and Sakura could not see his teeth but she thought that they might be sharpened. 

Sasuke, beside her, wasn’t breathing. 

_ “Sharingan,” _he choked, at least with the wherewithal to be quiet. “Sharingan?” 

“What’s that?” asked Naruto, who had no such tendency, and drew Zabuza’s immediate attention. 

“And you’ve brought brats,” said Zabuza. He sounded pleased. Smug, like a cat with a bowl of cream, or a raccoon who’d found fresh throwaways, or a murderer with new targets. “Ah, Hatake.” 

“Get _ back,” _Hatake snarled to his team, and lunged for Zabuza. His body blurred and metal flashed, and Zabuza jumped backwards, eyes widening, mouth tightening under his bandage mask. 

Voice smiled. _ Hello, Wolf. _

Hatake didn’t hear, but Sakura did, and she smiled in return. 

Mist began to cover the clearing, unnatural and entirely conjured. The jounins’ movements brushed just enough away so that she could see, and Sakura found herself enamoured after all. 

They were beautiful to watch. 

For all of his shortcomings as a teacher — of which there were many — Hatake's figure and form were perfect and Voice was a constant purr in the forefront of her mind. Zabuza met his every blow with one of his own, and despite the glinting metal, the only noise coming from the pair was the crunch of displaced dirt. 

_ Watch his spin, _ Voice told her, _ see how his feet move but his eyes never leave? _

No, Sakura said honestly. 

_ You will, _ Voice assured, and then Hatake was pushed into the water and caught in a liquid cage. _ For now - keep to the shadows. Watch our boys. If they’re in true danger - I’ll step in. _

Sakura startled. 

_ Don’t worry, sweet girl, _ purred Voice, soft and dark and dangerous, _ I’m watching. _

The lack of noise was nearly overwhelming. Silence allowed too much room for the pounding of her heart in her head. Blood rushed in her ears and the light from the sky seemed eerily bright —

_ “Kakashi-sensei!” _Naruto cried, jerking forwards. His voice was thick with fury. Sasuke moved in unison and it was like their previous years of discord and enmity were entirely forgotten, and they were running toward Zabuza with intent in their expressions. 

Sakura felt proud. 

Then Zabuza stalled them both with a glare, and Sakura felt tired, because that was murder in his eyes, yes, but it was simple and rooted in necessity rather than hatred. Hatake was a challenge; his genin were an obstacle. 

Hatake was a wolf; his genin were vines hanging in Zabuza’s path, more convenient to cut down than to move around. 

The murder in his eyes was not personal, which meant that Zabuza would be more logical, which in turn meant that their best chances lay in _ getting Hatake out. _

Instead, Naruto and Sasuke broke from their hesitation and sprinted at the nukenin. 

_ I’m watching, Sakura-chan, _ Voice reminded her. _ You have a choice, now: to break the water prison or to guard the client. Choose quickly, my darling girl. _

-

“Sakura-chan followed the mission,” Hatake chided over a full bowl of rice. “Sakura-chan didn’t try to engage an enemy far above her skill level. _ Sakura-chan _ guarded the client, which is what _ we are here to do.” _

“But sensei, you were trapped,” Naruto said. He gestured towards Hatake's crutches with his chopsticks. “We don’t leave our comrades behind. We weren’t going to just run away.” 

“Hn,” said Sasuke. 

Hatake sighed, setting his own chopsticks to the side. His bowl was empty. “You put yourselves, and the client, in unnecessary danger.” 

“You got hurt,” Naruto argued. “And you would’ve gotten more hurt.” 

“I had been in and out of a war, by the time you were born,” Hatake said blandly. “I know exactly the consequences of my actions. Naruto, Sasuke: Sakura is also your comrade, and Tazuna is a civilian. Consider that, the next time you want to face Kirigakure’s Demon.” 

“‘Next time’?” Sasuke asked, frowning. 

“Ah,” said Hatake. He made a point of looking around. They were alone in the room. “See, Zabuza’s probably alive.” 

Naruto and Sasuke froze. _ “What.” _

-

Sakura felt the cold on her skin as she looked towards the sky, covered in clouds that obscured the stars and moon. Inside her, a coil of excess energy buzzed. 

She had watched her teammates put themselves in danger and she had done _ nothing. _

_ It was a choice, _ reminded Voice, _ and it was a good one. _

Sakura had stood in the trees and watched them risk their lives. She had stood by Tazuna as he cowered. 

_ Our boys are alive, sweet girl. Breathe. Let your anger boil, but away, where you can use it when the time is appropriate. Not now. _

For all her sharpness, she had done nothing. 

_ Darling thing, your moral dilemma can be postponed. The action has been taken. It is done. _

Nothing, Sakura thought fiercely. 

The wind shifted and someone sat down beside her. 

“I saw you,” Hatake Kakashi said casually, watching the clouds. 

“Hm?” Sakura asked when he didn’t explain further. 

Hatake sighed. It was a purposeful, practiced movement, and while there wasn’t a single bit of tension in his body, she wasn’t enough of a fool to think he was relaxed. 

“Or rather, I didn’t see you, earlier,” he commented, “when you’ve eaten raw animals with your bare teeth.” He had followed her in Konoha, then. 

“Hm,” Sakura said again. 

“You chose to stay with Tazuna.” 

“Yes,” she said. 

“You put your team in danger.” 

“They put themselves into that position.” 

“You didn’t move to stop them.” 

“That’s not my responsibility.” 

“They are your teammates,” Hatake said lightly. “I made a mistake by allowing Zabuza to draw out the fight, which I could have prevented. You made a mistake by allowing them to move forward, which you could have prevented.”

He patted her head. “I trust that both of these mistakes will never happen again.” 

_ Liar, _ Voice thought fondly. _ He sees us after all. _

“Yes,” Sakura answered them both. 

(She had chosen to do nothing. She had chosen to be the flower.) 

Voice, Sakura thought, you called me a civilian kunoichi, rising through the ranks. 

_ Ah, _it replied, understanding her unspoken question;

_ Hatake Kakashi, Liar, Wolf, Friend-killer… he hides under a mask, but his smile is just like yours. _

_ Naruto and Sasuke are too young, too soft. Hatake… _

Sakura watched her sensei, his silver hair barely visible in the low light. She couldn’t see him breathe. 

_ … Hatake will not shiver at your teeth, sweet girl, but he will take advantage of your fire. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now sakura gets to find the very careful balance between overprotective enough to satisfy kakashi and "normal" enough to not be suspicious :)


End file.
